Peter will be working in the Ferroelectronics Lab over the summer as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering Program (SURE). SURE offers summer research internships to outstanding undergraduate students who have completed their sophomore or junior year. The progam funds the undergraduate student for 10-12 weeks of full-time research. Peter will be working to synthesize ordered antiferromagnetic Tb₂Ir₂O₇ thin films for use in magnetotransport studies.

Steve and Nguyen both received Rackham Graduate Student Research grants for $3,000 each. Steve’s grant will go towards buying a new magnetron sputtering assembly for the lab and Nguyen’s grant was for the purchase of a high voltage amplifier unit for electronic measurements. Congratulations to both of them.

Some of Peter’s artwork submitted to the annual calendar competition was chosen to hang in the hallway of the HH Dow building, home of the UM MSE department. If you are walking through, check it out!

Two of Peter’s science art images were chosen to go on the materials science department annual calendar. The chosen images show the magnetic structure of entropy stabilized oxides and target ablation during pulsed laser deposition.

M-Write aims to transform the teaching and learning across the University of Michigan through increased student engagement and transformative learning. M-Write implements a writing-to-learn pedagogy with the incorporation of an automated peer review process. The writing-to-learn pedagogy is unique in that it seeks to supplement mathematical understanding of core concepts with written expression of understanding. Students are posed with a writing prompt designed to test the understanding of a core class principle and the ability to express it. The peer review process encompasses critique and revision steps which enable students to engage with one another for peer-to-peer learning. The ability to express technical concepts through writing and oral presentations have become critical skills for modern scientists and engineers. M-Write is used in material science and engineering courses in order to build some of these skills.

In the Fall 2017 semester, Peter will work with professor Heron to implement M-Write in the introductory materials science course MATSCIE 220. Throughout the semester, they will become engaged with faculty and students across campus to participate in a semester long seminar that will focus on the development of writing prompts and methodologies for enhanced student involvement.

For further information about M-Write, go to http://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/m-write.html